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| MC Assembly chose American Dynamics surveillance cameras with Kantech access control software |
Contract manufacturer MC Assembly takes protecting its staff and its assets seriously both for the benefit of the company and for its customers. Based in Palm Bay, Florida, MC Assembly provides testing and contract manufacturing services that enable original equipment manufacturers to reduce costs, increase quality, and maintain product availability. The company currently employs a staff of 1,200 at its manufacturing facility in the U.S. and 250 employees at its facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. To ensure employee safety and protect customers’ intellectual property, MC Assembly set out to upgrade its entire security system.
The company has taken full advantage of the integration capabilities of Tyco Fire & Security’s wide range of security solutions. They chose American Dynamics surveillance cameras and digital video management systems, which are centrally managed through Kantech access control software, providing strong connectivity between the video and access control alarms.
“Our guys really appreciate the intuitive nature of Kantech and American Dynamics products,” said Peter James, senior account executive of ADT. “They’re easy to work with, easy to install, and the support is terrific.”
The full scale upgrade involved installing cameras to monitor more than a quarter million square feet of space, and upgrading from a tape-based system to a digital video environment. Previously, the company had a VCR system that involved changing tapes every two days. “It was a pain when we needed to review a tape,” said Charlie Wienckoski, chief of security. “Sometimes the tape would break and it was difficult to find exactly what we needed in reviewing scratchy footage.”
MC Assembly turned to security integrator ADT to create a security command post that consisted of American Dynamics branded surveillance solutions, including:
- An Intellex® digital video management system
- A wall of 43 flat screen monitors
- More than 50 dome and fixed surveillance cameras indoors
- Six SpeedDome® Ultra VII Enhanced Day/Night dome cameras placed outdoors
All of this equipment is centrally managed using the Kantech EntraPass™ Corporate Edition access control software. Using the software’s Smartlink™ feature, security personnel can simultaneously monitor surveillance footage from anywhere on the premises.
“We liked the way that the products were designed to seamlessly integrate with one another,” said Bob
Fontaine, commercial account executive of ADT. “Our guys really appreciate the intuitive nature of Kantech and American Dynamics products,” said Peter James, senior account executive of ADT. “They’re easy to work with, easy to install, and the support is terrific.”
The nature and scope of the project was considerable. Some cameras had to be installed a few hundred feet away from any power source. The fitness center, for example, required a fiber optic connection to obtain quality images from a remote distance. In addition, ADT had to install equipment in several pre-existing facilities, working around MC Assembly staff to get the job done. “ADT bent over backwards for us,” Wienckoski said. “They were fantastic.”
“Our guys really appreciate the intuitive nature of Kantech and American Dynamics products. They’re easy to work with, easy to install, and the support is terrific” |
ADT also installed 16 Kantech KT300 door controllers and 32 proximity card readers to further control access to the facility. Employees simply present their ID card to the card reader at each door to be authorized for entry.
Integrating the security components through the Kantech access control software provides MC Assembly’s security personnel with real-time alerts so they can prevent unwanted activities. “If there’s a door open for too long, our system will send a text message to my phone and tell me what door there is an issue with and what time this occurred,” Wienckoski said. “I can go online anywhere there is an Internet connection and quickly find out who it was and call police or a supervisor immediately.”
The sharpness of the images presented by the American Dynamics cameras was also a great draw. “The images are crystal clear and the SpeedDome cameras are easy to program. I can select a language, set passwords, configure devices, and manage alarm actions. If I encounter a problem, all I have to do is push a button and it repeats a desired pattern of surveillance. We can even pan, zoom, or tilt to get a better view of what’s going on,” Wienckoski said.
This came in handy recently when the catering company that manages MC Assembly’s cafeteria reported suspicious activity during the night shift. The surveillance system caught a cafeteria employee falsifying his time card — and trying to pilfer cash from the register. The visual evidence gave the company the grounds to terminate the employee. And since the new system is digital, they were able to quickly burn a CD, maintain authenticity of the evidence, and share the digital footage with local police, who are now investigating the crime.
“We’ve invited the Palm Bay police here to see the command center,” Wienckoski said. “They’re really quite impressed and because of our outside cameras said they would keep us in mind if they needed to view film for any investigation.”
“A lot of companies have trouble getting management to spend money on security. Ours understands this need one hundred percent. This gives our customers and our employee’s greater peace of mind.”
